A federal appeals court has upheld the state of Arkansas’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, a court ruled on Tuesday.
The ruling reversed a lower court’s decision and remanded it. The court ruled that the act violated the First Amendment, the 14th Amendment’s equal protect clause and due process.
Four minors sued the Arkansas Attorney general over a 2021 law enacted by the Legislature. The lower court had permanently enjoined the Attorney General and State Medical Board from enforcing the law.
But the 8th Circuit said Moody’s ruling conflicts with the Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti, which said that a law banning gender-affirming care for minors in Tennessee doesn’t discriminate on the basis of sex.
“Because the district court rested its permanent injunction on incorrect conclusions of law, it abused its discretion. See Oglala Sioux Tribe , 542 F.3d at 229. The judgment is reversed and the case remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion," the ruling said.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin welcomed the ruling.
“The Eighth Circuit held that Arkansas’s SAFE Act is constitutional," Griffin said in a statement. "That law prohibits healthcare providers from performing gender-transition surgeries on minors or providing them puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones."
"I applaud the court’s decision recognizing that Arkansas has a compelling interest in protecting the physical and psychological health of children and am pleased that children in Arkansas will be protected from risky, experimental procedures with lifelong consequences."
Congressman Rep. Tim Burchett, a Tenn. Republican, applauded the ruling.
"Let me fix this headline. Arkansas can stop so called Dr’s from butchering kids."
Let me fix this headline. Arkansas can stop so called Dr’s from butchering kids. https://t.co/mYMDj3ZkOC
— Tim Burchett (@timburchett) August 13, 2025
About 21 states have banned or restricted gender conforming care for minors.
Santa Clara University trains students to counsel kids as young as 5, according to whistleblower Naomi Best.
"Just confirmed: Santa Clara U trains therapy students to give “gender-affirming” counseling to kids as young as 5 at a state-funded clinic that hands out free binders and does affirming garment fittings with no parent consent required. Most 5-year-olds are learning to tie shoes, print letters, and ride a bike without training wheels. This is modern therapy training."
Just confirmed: Santa Clara U trains therapy students to give “gender-affirming” counseling to kids as young as 5 at a state-funded clinic that hands out free binders and does affirming garment fittings with no parent consent required.
— Naomi Best (@naomieppsbest) August 11, 2025
Most 5-year-olds are learning to tie…
The ruling follows a Jan. 28 Executive Order from President Trump that opposes the "transition" of a child from one sex to another.
"Accordingly, it is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called “transition” of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures," the order said.
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